Critics Blast Access to Open Records in Providence
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Following the City of Providence not releasing basic permit documents for City Council President Michael Solomon's restaurant citing privacy concerns -- and a ten day cover allowed by the Access to Public Records Act [APRA] - residents and candidates are voicing their concerns for the transparency and expediency of releasing requested information to the press -- and public.
On Thursday, GoLocal had sought to confirm whether documents were on file -- or not -- specifically for recent renovations on Solomon's Wes Rib House, as sources said they were never pulled. Solomon's camp said that the proper paperwork had been done, but the Department of Inspections and Standards, instructed by the city, stalled on handing over the files, citing in contained information that needed to be redacted, when asked only to see the permit.
"Good government advocates celebrated, a few years ago, when APRA rules were updated, but I found it almost immediately more difficult to access information at every level of government," said Justin Katz, a policy researcher with the Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity. "The problem is that accountability is ultimately political, in our system of government, and the more process we try to layer on, the more room there is to hide from outrage."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTCommunity Reaction to Record Request
On Friday, residents, parents, community leaders, and whistleblowers voiced concerns regarding the request for public records process.
Judith Reilly, who has submitted numerous APRA requests to obtain information surrounding questions pertaining to the Providence Economic Development Partnership, spoke of her experience, and offered her perspective.
"The Access to Public Records Act is written in plain English and involvement of City attorneys should not be necessary on most requests. Channeling all requests through the Law Department is a waste of the attorneys' time and therefore taxpayers' money," said Reilly. "Why has the Taveras administration not properly trained people in its public-facing offices to handle simple APRA requests? In the case described in golocalprov.com, it certainly seems like the permits themselves could have been handed over for examination on the spot, while the checks could have been held back to allow for redaction of account numbers (which should probably take a lot less than 10 days and needn't be done by law school graduates)."
A group of Providence parents who have voiced concerns about the Providence Public School Department's decision to move integrated pre-Kindergarten out of Vartan Gregorian - and across town -- spoke to attempts to obtain information from the city.
"The PPSD has systematically blocked any and all attempts to retrieve public data that may further define--and therefore possibly incriminate--the discrimination issues surrounding the Vartan Gregorian PreK closing. This includes a map of general student location data disclosed at a press conference before the School Board Meeting on April 16th. I've "reminded" the PPSD that they were required to give me this information BEFORE the School Board Meeting in response to a March 29th Freedom of Information Act request," said Vartan Gregorian parent Hollybeth Runco. "So far we've been ignored."
"Quite honestly, I'm stunned. This is my first time trying to work with the PPSD to help serve my home community. The PPSD has violated every right we have to public disclosure of information," continued Runco. "This is very, very unfortunate. They have forced me to make a very difficult choice: I can either give in to an administration that flaunts power and violates our right to public information OR pursue an absolutely undesired legal battle to protect our community's special needs children. The public should be outraged."
Candidates Pledge Transparency
Follow Thursday's revelation of stalled disclosure on documents, as allowed under the letter of the law, Providence mayoral candidates weighed in on the issue.
"The press and public should always have immediate access to public data. City Hall has a responsibility to fulfill any request for public data efficiently or, better still, publish that data in an easy-to-navigate online database. As Mayor, I'll make sure our press and public can go online to see permit status, whether that permit has been submitted, reviewed, approved, or rejected," said Democratic candidate Lorne Adrain. "Building permits are already online in Boston and many other cities. By 2014, this counts as a basic government service. Online permitting would also expand the city's ability to uniformly enforce codes and ordinances: residents who see work proceeding on a building could go online and see what the permit states, and report any discrepancy to the city."
Adrain continued, "A transparent City Hall and well-informed citizenry keep our elected officials accountable and our city efficient. Increasing transparency will be one of my first priorities as Mayor. When City Hall meets a simple request for information with stonewalling and evasion, public confidence decreases, making it hard for us to come together and move Providence forward. As Mayor, my plan for an efficient Providence starts with enacting the City Hall reforms outlined by the Open Providence Commission for Accountability and Transparency. We have the report: it's time to take action. After that, I'll create an online, open-to-all performance dashboard showing permits issued, roads paved, and other indicators of progress."
Democratic contender Jorge Elorza had the following to say on the issue.
"I believe the responsibility here is on Council President Solomon to take the lead in making sure that all relevant information is made public. If there's nothing to hide, then there should be no problem or delay in making the documents available," said Elorza. "It's unclear to me why the City would need 10 days to redact a document that is intended to be publicly displayed in a window at the work site. In my recent proposal to improve City services, I pledged to begin by enacting the City Hall reforms outlined by the Open Providence Commission for Accountability and Transparency. Simply put, this kind of obstruction is Old Providence, and will have no place in an Elorza City Hall."
"All city records need to be readily available to members of the press and anyone trying to do business in our city. Basic information like certificates of occupancy and approved uses for property are recorded only on index cards in old filing cabinets, and finding the right city employee to locate these records is like pulling teeth,'' said Democratic candidate Brett Smiley "Additionally, Providence has no public notice requirement on building permits, leaving neighbors in the dark whenever a new development surfaces. As Mayor, I will implement clear building and zoning requirements and will put all public records online so they can be accessed by anybody in a matter of minutes without needing to 'know a guy' in City Hall."
Dr. Daniel Harrop, the Republican candidate in the race at this time, provided his views. "It should be a simple matter to pull a verification of a building permit --even a paper one if not an on-line one. It's a public record and should be available. City Hall has continued to have this air of secrecy about it -- only certain people should get certain information," said Harrop. "There is an old maxim, that "Knowledge is power." City Hall continues to be a closed shop, and you've got to know someone to get something done."
Eye on APRA
Katz, who works with the non-profit free enterprise public policy think tank which is the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, spoke of his experience trying to obtain information at the local level.
"On the local level, for years, I was able to get statistical information about the local school district straight from the business manager for the district. It worked well, because he's just a straight-laced employee of the town supplying the public with information to which he had access," said Katz. "After the APRA changes, suddenly the superintendent was the designated agent for information requests, and he's a much more political, arguably intimidating, person with whom to deal for minor requests."
Katz continued, "My basic sense is that the government has used the "transparency" push to make it much easier for the public to get top-line data that's of limited value. But when you're a more-active citizen or a journalist, you're trying to gather information that people inside government might not want to let out, so the rigid process can be a way for the insiders to route you into roadblocks or delay the release of information."
Providence parent Kira Green provided her experience trying obtain zip code data, to get further information on the city's decision to move the Vartan Gregorian pre-K program.
"The last few years, under Mayor Taveras, the Providence School District has been utilizing data, zip code and demographic, to justify school closures and programming changes. Yet when the public whom they serve request to see this same data, that in many cases, is at the Superintendent's fingertips, we are met with a 14 day wait or an answer that we must pay as we are an "external" request," said Green.
"As a parent of children in Providence Public Schools, I don't think of myself as "external". With respect to transparency, we are going backwards as a School District. This City, met with any large educational issue, simply can't face it fairly when we are only being provided with a portion of the data vs. the full story. To make matters worse, it seems some of our elected officials have forgotten the need to question, furthering a bias that can only be traced back to those in power."
Related Slideshow: Providence 2014 Mayoral Candidates’ Top Priorities
See the issues of top concern to Providence Mayoral candidates Lorne Adrain, Jorge Elorza, Dan Harrop, Brett Smiley, and Michael Solomon -- and if elected, what their highest priority would be.
Related Articles
- Elorza Unveils Five-Point Plan for Providence City Services
- Sarah Brightman to Come to Providence for PPAC Show on August 22
- Providence City Workers Pour Thousands into Solomon Campaign
- Former Providence Mayor Blasts Streetcar Proposal
- UPDATE Circus Accident: Parent Company Feld Thanks Providence
- Providence College: Former Friar Brandon Austin in Trouble Again
- LISTEN: City of Providence Covers Up Permit File for Solomon Restaurant
- VIDEO of Circus Accident - Ringling Brothers in Providence
- Providence Parents Claim School Dept. Violating Special Needs Act
- Bill: Public Records Must Be Available in Seven Days
- LISTEN: Former Providence Mayor Blasts Streetcar Proposal
- NEW: Providence Leaders Endorse Frank Caprio for Treasurer
- Providence Ranked 5th for New England Metros: Personal Income Growth
- Rob Horowitz: New Public Records Law a Step in the Right Direction
- LISTEN: Providence Circus Accident: Animals Inspected, Not Workers
- NEW: Raimondo Blasts Taveras for Property Tax Hikes in Providence
- LISTEN: Providence City Workers Pour Thousands into Solomon Campaign
- The Historic Overhaul of the Access to Public Records Act
- NEW: Architectural Digest Names Providence Best Small City in U.S.
- Providence Budget Could be Off Tens of Millions
- LISTEN: Who Will Be the Next President of the Providence City Council?
- City of Providence Covers Up Permit File for Solomon Restaurant
- Recruiting Update: Providence Jamfest features local players to watch
- Providence Circus Accident: Animals Inspected but Not Workers
- NAACP Providence Will Celebrate Brown v. Board of Education Anniversary
- Critics Blast Access to Open Records in Providence
- Sanchez Asks for Greater Transparency in Providence Government
- Providence City Council: Who Will Be the Next President?
